Hey, new guy here. I recently purchased my 09 cbr600r in green/black. I rode it home a few miles wearing cheap DOT approved helmet my buddy let my borrow, but I refuse to ride the bike around until I have a decent helmet. There are a few that have caught my eye, first being the scorpion exo-700 in chameleon black because it some what matches the color scheme of the bike, also the bell rs-1. The helmet does not need to match the bike, but that would be a plus. I don't have $600 to spend on a helmet but I am willing to fork out a "decent" amount of cash for a quality product. Any advice, comments, criticism would be greatly appreciated! Let me know what you guys got, and what you like the best. Thanks!

Cobra90GT just got his here is his own pictures I hope he do not mind me sharing them to show you such beauty it does have a strip of green into it plus the price is very reasonable for such a quality lid

I've got a Shoei XR1000. Although its the only decent helmet I've owned, I can't recommend it enough. It's light, it's comfortable, it's got numerous vents which keep it cool/warm as required, it's got a pin lock type setup on the visor which allows a minute amount of air to flow around which reduces the fogging up plus a few other features. Overall I'm very happy with it.

Touch wood, but I haven't had to "test" how safe it is but I'm told they're pretty good.

ive got the scorpion exo 1100 kranium. i love it! i had a shoei rf-1100 for a while but sold it and went back to my scorpion. so my vote is a scorpion lid. great lids for a decent price. but also the bell rs-1 black beauty is hard to pass up at the price it is now.

The best helmet is the one that fits your head, you can buy the most expensive helmet out there but it's not gonna serve a purpose when it fits like a KFC bucket on your head. Best bet is to go to a local shop and try a few on and get an idea of what model and brand fit you best then you can buy online and search for the color you want.

If there's no shop near you I believe one of the supporting vendors on here have a free exchange policy just can't remember who.

Not all brands and models fit the same for everybody's head shape. If you read other threads here on the .net you will see that (and I speak of experience) most important is fit. Thereafter you find a style that works for you in that fit. A correct fitting cheaper (but DOT approved) helmet will do a better job at protecting you noggin than the most expensive helmet not fitting properly! Good luck in your hunt for that perfect helmet!

As for helmets u need to try them on. They arnt one size fits all. I usually only fit scorpion, and I love mine. I am a medium in them but I really wanted a bell carbon speed freak so I drove to stg (I live in Michigan so this is possible) and tried them on. Turns out I'm an extra small with small cheek pads.
This goes to show all helmets don't fit the same. AVG helmets won't fit me period and icon are too big in the top. Go to a local place that has a huge selection, try on brands and when you find one you like CALL STG! Period.
Jason can get u deals, for usually way below price. I got my carbon and shield for under 400. I mean he's amazing to work with. Extension 210. Do it!

You have to go to a store and really try on the helmet first before you give it the go of actually buying the helmet. Everyone has different head shapes and so for you, you need to go try it on before you make the purchase.

Personally from my own experience, I have a Scorpion EXO-500 and absolutely love it. However, it doesn't fit perfectly with the shape of my head as an Arai Vector 2 will. I've tried on AGV, Arai, Shoei, HJC, and Scorpion and out of those choices the Arai is the one that sits on my head perfectly while having my glasses on. Should have saved the money for an Arai, but I made the call for Scorpion and will most likely save up for an Arai later on.

For a budget and a great helmet, I'd definitely choose the Scorpion. That'd be my opinion though.

Go to a your local shop and definitely ask the employees there to help you fit into your helmet.

@moeman, the deal is already over. Its back to full price. Im glad i ordered one in time, just waiting to receive it.

EDIT: just rechecked their site and they still have a couple different Stars on sale. Just not the black beauty.

Actually, it's not. You have to call Jason to get the deal. He mentioned to me when I ordered mine on Monday that they had to put the price back up on the website until December, but that he would still give you the lower price if you called him. Unless that's changed since Monday, always call for the best prices.

Holy **it! I was not expecting this many responses in such a short time! I guess im just used to the lack of usage on the Cummins Forum. You guys are tons of help! I think I am gonna go ahead and give Jason a call and get the deal on the bell star! Thanks a lot!

Holy **it! I was not expecting this many responses in such a short time! I guess im just used to the lack of usage on the Cummins Forum. You guys are tons of help! I think I am gonna go ahead and give Jason a call and get the deal on the bell star! Thanks a lot!

Well we don't really ride bikes, most of us just brag about owning one but it's garage kept and we just sit on the intraweb hiding behind keyboards. It really comes down to whoever can use google the quickest and respond in time to a thread. All we care about is our post count rather then lap times.

Well we don't really ride bikes, most of us just brag about owning one but it's garage kept and we just sit on the intraweb hiding behind keyboards.

So if you own a Ducati what are you trolling a Honda forum for?
There's no free Starbucks cards on here that I know of.

__________________
__________________________________________________ ____________________________________Thank you for purchasing a 600rr as your first bike.
The odds are strong that you will successfully add to our classified section and help lower parts prices

I went to my local Cycle Gear and tried on all the brands. It's funny how mediums fit great in some. Smalls better in others, then you grab an AGV and the medium is to big, small is too small.
Sad thing is, I really wanted a Bell, and they didn't stock those. Just got my Black Beauty in small and fit is pretty much perfect.

Good god, that's a great deal on the Bell Star. I paid $416 shipped for mine and that was an amazing deal at the time for a $600+ helmet. It's got great airflow and looks freaking amazing. Fits me very well but it's quite noisy. I wear ear plugs with it so that's not much of a problem. You won't be disappointed. They do run smaller than other helmets. I wear a medium in the scorpion Exo 750. I had that helmet before and the Star one is LEAPS and BOUNDS better than the Exo 750. The biggest difference I noticed was the high speed stability. No more neck pain with the wind buffeting. I recently got the photochromic visor and it's awesome. My only gripe about that visor is that the anti-fogging isn't as good as the clear or dark smoke visors.

Edit: One of the good things about most of the online retail stores (like STG) is that if it doesn't fit, you can return it with no restocking fee. You do have to pay for the return postage, though. It's not outrageous to ship back though... well, I guess it depends on where you live. Figure out what your head shape is and you can go from there to narrow down some fits. www.webbikeworld.com has good reviews on a lot of the helmets and really go into detail with headshape and fitment.

They do run smaller than other helmets. I wear a medium in the scorpion Exo 750.

I've been using a Small Shoei X-11 for about 4 years now. I purchased a Bell Star Carbon Cerwinskie last year. When I ordered it they didn't have any Smalls left so I took a chance on an XS knowing the Small & XS share the same shell size. All I would have to do is replace the liner if it was too tight. Turned out to be a good thing I got the XS because I found it to be about the same fit for me.

To be honest part of why I ordered it was because of the Carbon Fiber Construction. I was thinking it would be leaps and bounds lighter than my Small X-11 because of it.
When I pulled it out of the box I noticed how much larger the shell was than my X-11. A quick check on a scale proved that it was lighter but only by a few grams. The regular shell Star would have no doubt been heavier than the X-11.
**The Small Shoei X-12 is no doubt heavier than the Small X-11 because of either the SNELL2010 requirements or extra room to make way for the new emergency pull out cheek pads**

I rode in the Star for a while and was a little disappointed because I read about how stable this thing was supposed to be at higher speeds and on the freeways. Quite frankly I found my X-11 to be more stable. After talking to a couple friends in town who have the same helmet I added the Track Strip thinking it might help. It didn't seem to do much and the thing was still a bit unstable.
I did a back to back test in a mirror with my X-11 and realized the cheek pads on the Star hit my face in a different area. An area where I'm a little lean/narrow and it definitely left a little wiggle room there.
Upon inspection I found my XS Star came with the Firm 50mm pads so I ordered up the Firm 55mm pads, the thickest they make. Success! Now it fits great and is at least as stable as the X-11 if not perhaps a little better.

After living with the Carbon Star for a while I noticed the finer points of the helmet vs. my X-11. It offers a super comfy interior material, it flows more air, and it has a larger field of vision to boot.
All in all not too f'ing bad if you can get it at a lower price point.

My complaints after a season of riding in it:

1. Noise, yea it's a little loud. The helmet will remind you to put your ear plugs in.
2. Chin strap closure system. "If it ain't broke don't fix it". I'd rather have the snap closure like 99% of the other helmets have instead of the magnetic ends. I've had it come unsnapped/unclosed a couple times and it's pretty bothersome when it happens. Something I've never had a snapped helmet do.
3. Chin vent. Holy cow does that sucker need a filter. Having a large bug come blasting through that thing at speed isn't so nice. Most of the time I leave it closed.

I leave the chin curtain in 100% of the time because all kinds of crap seems to get funneled up that way. Again to be fair I mostly use the chin curtain on my X-11 because of this same issue.
Getting something in your eye while riding is not a good idea. I'm 5'10 and still using the stock wind screen though. Perhaps if I installed a double bubble or Corsa it would rectify this.

__________________
__________________________________________________ ____________________________________Thank you for purchasing a 600rr as your first bike.
The odds are strong that you will successfully add to our classified section and help lower parts prices

Tater, did you put the optional rear spoiler on the rear of the helmet? I felt wobbly also until I installed that little lip. Made a big difference for me. Now, the X11 is a phenomenal helmet and I had only the crappy Exo 750 to compare it with.

I did install the Track Strip but I'm thinking about removing it. My problem was mostly a fitment issue.
I BV himself said it helps at speeds of 140 and over in his SBTG review. Honestly now, how many times are you going 140 or over?

__________________
__________________________________________________ ____________________________________Thank you for purchasing a 600rr as your first bike.
The odds are strong that you will successfully add to our classified section and help lower parts prices

__________________
__________________________________________________ ____________________________________Thank you for purchasing a 600rr as your first bike.
The odds are strong that you will successfully add to our classified section and help lower parts prices